Bommai not expanding Cabinet to avoid giving berth to Yediyurappa's son: Siddaramaiah
Kalaburagi (K'taka), Feb 6: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday claimed that the "secret" behind Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai not expanding the Cabinet is to avoid making BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa's son as a minister.
Speaking to reporters, he also alleged that "getting more bribes" was the other reason why Bommai is not undertaking the exercise and keeping many portfolios with himself.
"BJP did injustice to Yediyurappa; they along with RSS made him step down from the Chief Minister post and brought in Basavaraj Bommai. There is rift between Yediyurappa and Bommai now, because Bommai did not expand the Cabinet, to avoid inducting Yediyurappa's son into the Ministry," Siddaramaiah claimed.
"As he will have to make Yediyurappa's son a minister if the cabinet is expanded, the Chief Minister did not expand the Ministry and is keeping six posts vacant, it has been more than one-and-half years now," he added.
Pointing out that the Chief Minister is keeping many departments with himself, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly alleged that it is because he will get more bribes.
These are the two reasons why Bommai is not expanding the Cabinet, he claimed.
Almost one-fourth of the portfolios are with the Chief Minister, as Bommai is in charge of about eight of them, including Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR), Bengaluru City Development and Finance.
Bommai has been repeatedly saying in recent months that he has had discussions with the party high command regarding expanding the Cabinet and will go ahead with the process once he gets clearance from them.
Assembly elections are due in the state by May.
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CM Siddaramaiah, FM Nirmala Sitharaman lead polio vaccination drive in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the statewide pulse polio vaccination drive on Sunday.
While Siddaramaiah kicked off the campaign along with state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Home Minister G Parameshwara at his residence 'Kaveri' here, Sitharaman, who is in Vijayanagara district in the state, holding Chintan Shivir, administered pulse polio drops to children below five years of age in Kamalapura.
"Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunisation Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India," a post on her 'X' account said.
The post further said that children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) drops, "reinforcing the collective effort to protect future generations through timely immunisation."
According to the details shared by the health departments, about 62.4 lakh children have been identified for it.
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"Under the routine immunization programme, every Child is given 5 doses of OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) and 3 doses of IPV (inactivated injectable polio vaccine) and Government of Karnataka is committed that no child should miss these doses," a government statement said.
Apart from all hospitals in the state, special focus will be given to immunise children living in villages, hilly areas, brick kilns, slums, migrant areas, farmhouses, urban slums. Booths will also be set up in railway stations, metro stations, airports and Seaports, the statement said.
The state health department has set up 33,258 booths and deployed 1,030 mobile teams, 2,096 transit teams, 1,13,115 vaccinators and 7,322 Supervisors.
All children below five years of age will be administered the oral polio vaccine on December 21, 2025.
"Even if your child has received any number of doses of OPV before, it is very essential to immunise your child again during this round," the department said.
In order to allay concerns, the department said the polio vaccine is completely safe and people should not to believe in any false rumours.
Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunization Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) December 21, 2025
On the occasion, children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)… pic.twitter.com/PN4IJUGtnn
ಗೃಹಕಚೇರಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣಾದಲ್ಲಿ "ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಲಸಿಕಾ ದಿನ"ವನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಪಲ್ಸ್ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 21, 2025
ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರೂ ತಮ್ಮ 5 ವರ್ಷದೊಳಗಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿದ ತಪ್ಪದೇ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ "ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಮುಕ್ತ ಭಾರತ"ದ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಯಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.
ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ದಿನೇಶ್… pic.twitter.com/uClMoqOnyB
